Office Work

Despite two radical career changes in my life I have always found myself working in an office. Many, many times when sitting at my desk the term "dark satanic mills" has popped in to my head. I thought I would have another look a Blake's poem today. There are a few interpretations of his work but the one that resonates with me is the meaning linked with the Industrial Revolution, destruction of nature and human relationship.

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!

I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

I have come to realise over the last 7 or 8 years that working within an office is probably making me ill. Two years ago I decided that working part time was a possible solution by limiting my exposure to the office and work environment but I have found that this means it only takes me a little longer to become unwell! So what is wrong with an office environment? After all, many millions of people all over the world work in office environments.

Office work is so restrictive. You must comply with the clock. I live in a northern latitude and in the winter I feel it almost inhumane to insist that we stick with clock hours, rising in the pitch black and returning home in the same, never to see a bit daylight all day. Conversely, in summer, when the sun is high in the sky you barely see daylight from your desk. This is partly a status thing as in large open plan offices it is the "senior" staff who are usually positioned next to any windows. Those who are not so lucky sit in rows of desks at the center of the building under electrical light. Even the windows you can see are often obscured with blinds or solar reflective films.

The air is unhealthly too. We are assured that air conditioned buildings with their filtered air are healthy. I don't care what they say, it feels unhealthy to me! It's stagnant and sick. How many times I have sat there and longed to open a window, to feel a breeze instead of an icy blast from an air conditining unit.

Everything feels electrical but not in an energising way. The computers, screens, copiers are sapping. You can almost feel the tiring haze that comes off all the machines and we are expected to sit for hour after hour, day after day looking at these things.

Then there is the sitting for hour after hour. This is not good for people - bodies were designed to be moved! I feel self conscious in the office if I get up and down from my seat too often. There seems to be an unwritten rule that in order to be at maximum production we must be at our stations continuously.

The other - unsaid - rules are the very worst for me. In open plan offices talking with colleagues, unless absolutely essential and about work matters, seems to be actively frowned upon. In one place I worked we had cubicles around our desk which were not enough to provide any privacy but just enough to isolate you completely because you have to stand up to talk to anyone.

These offices grind the spirit down into conformity. They are de-humanising. There is no connection with nature and limited interaction with fellow beings. Offices are the dark satanic mills of our time.

The mills of the industrial revolution period were physically harsh, had unacceptably long hours and dangerous equipment. What has changed?! The "mills" of the current day make their employees feel obliged to work for longer than they are paid for, and in my opinion, being surrounded by all that electrical equipment, air conditioning and toxic man made materials is as bad as working with physically dangerous equipment.

There is an emotional and spiritual sickness in these places. Both working environments share a total disconnect with nature. We are feeling beings not suited to a sterile, mechanistic environment. It weakens the spirit and soul for where is the inspiration that comes from nature or from intimate contact with fellow beings? I am certain that in years to come we will look back at these hermetically sealed environments and our children will wonder how on earth that was ever allowed to be!

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